Essence of Rose
by Joe Normal
Summary: For them, dyslexia is the gift that just keeps on giving. Set after Battle of the Labyrinth.
1. The Proposal

**A/N: Rick Riordan owns the copyrighted characters in this story. No infringement intended in the name of profit.**

"I need you to do me a favor," a woman's voice sing-songed from behind me.

Needless to say, I was startled. I had been zoning out in front of the surf and thinking of an excuse to take some time away from camp. I can only stand about three or four days at a time without needing to make a jailbreak back to the city.

The Annabeth situation has made things…frosty.

I turn around to find a perfectly beautiful woman checking herself in one of those makeup mirrors. She has gorgeous blonde hair in ringlets…and her eyes are a subtle blue…almost like they are trying to be gray. My first guess could have been Athena, but Athena is never this vain…at least not in the few times that I have been standing in front of her.

"Lady Aphrodite," I say trying to be respectful, but this goddess terrifies me what with the whole I'm going to make your love life interesting (re: hell on earth) statement.

"A vial has been stolen from me…something I've been working on with Ares and…well the 'what' isn't so important as the fact that we need it back. Feel like dropping into the city for a day?"

I squint my eyes, since yes, I was looking to get out of camp and now I'm worried Aphrodite can read minds among her many talents. I'm hoping the answer is 'no, she can't read minds' because while she was talking and I was half-listening my mind wandered about how much she looked like Annabeth…and then…well it was all over from there.

"I don't suppose I can say no, can I?" I ask stupidly, it's not like I don't know the answer.

She smiles, and immediately my stomach caves. "Of course you can say no. I'm sure I can get one of my children to do it, I just figured you'd like the chance to get away…you have been coming and going all summer after all…"

"You've been keeping tabs on me?" I ask…also stupidly…but this time with a raised eyebrow.

"Perseus, please, I find your whole predicament with the heart to be absolutely fascinating. Calypso sends her undying affection by the way…" she mentions almost dismissively, until…"Did you ever…mention Calypso to Annabeth…ever tell her who you spent those two long weeks with?"

"You're blackmailing me? Why bother…nothing ever happened between us…except a kiss she gave me on the forehead." I say truthfully (albeit defensively)…although I did spend the next several hours contemplating what kissing the daughter of a Titan would be like…and/or spending the rest of eternity on an island with said daughter in a tropical paradise that required no real clothing at all…which would likely mean more kissing and…and…other things down the road would happen…

Focus.

"Percy, that doesn't matter. Annabeth is so territorial of you I sometimes think she could be one of my children. She also knows of the legend of Calypso, of this I'm certain. She knows how beautiful Calypso is…and how prone to falling in love with stranded heroes she can be…and how persuadable young heroes can be...especially heroes still in the prime of puberty. So how about you make this easy and retrieve the vial for me?" she says walking towards me and pinching my cheek.

I sigh.

"Fine," I relent.

"Wonderful!" she says much too happily, "Oh don't look at me like that. This will be a piece of baklava. And who knows…you might even have some fun while you are at it," she finishes and I know at that point I'm screwed.

"Pretty sure your idea of fun and my idea of fun are as far apart as New York is from Athens," I say as she begins to walk off towards the horizon.

She pauses and turns to face me, slowly forming one last smile of utter mischief.

"Time will tell. Avert your gaze, handsome, and make sure to tell Dionysus of our arrangement before you leave," she says before getting all white hot and shiny and disappearing. I hate how little time they give us to actually look away. But Apollo and Hermes are the worst about that. When I open my eyes again there is a piece of paper in my hand written in English…it takes me forever to read the letters. Thankfully I don't have dyscalculia also…the numbers are at least obvious.

Biltmore Hotel. Room 5683.

Telling Mr. D of the…mission…was its usual pointlessness. He said, 'Whatever Peter, have a nice time, comeback whenever…or not at all…'

I would like to say that response is out of mourning for the son he lost in the battle of the labyrinth. But that's pretty much what he always says. I still feel bad for him though.

A short time later Blackjack drops me off on the roof of the hotel. '_Sounds like a setup, boss,'_ were his thoughts on the mission, and when the Pegasus thinks the mission has a bad vibe to it, well you know there is trouble.

I enter through the roof access door and make my way down the stairs. Riptide is in my hand ready to be uncapped, although given how bad I feel about the circumstances of this mission, for some reason I don't think I'll actually be using it.

I get down to the fifth floor and stare at the exit from the stairwell, contemplating blowing off the mission and running to Rachel's house. That seems like an awesome plan until I remember that Ares is also in bed with Aphrodite, and that I may not just piss off one of the Olympians, but two or more. I take a deep breath and walk through the exit.

The hotel seems nice, at least from the hallway, not cheap…but not expensive by any stretch of the imagination either.

By the time I get to the room door, my stomach is in my throat. I realize just then that I have no way of getting into the room, unless I knock, which I assume I shouldn't do. Or kick the door open, which again, not a smart thing to do without knowing who is on the other side.

This is where Annabeth is irreplaceable. Well not just this, but you know what I mean…

Before I have to agonize over the point of entry issue any longer I look down to notice that the door is already slightly open.

This just gets weirder and weirder.

I gently push on the door, keeping it well in front of me to use as a shield in case someone or something is waiting for me on the other side with an arrow or an axe or who knows what.

But the first thing I notice is how silent it is.

I mean dead quiet. I have to strain to hear the city noise outside.

Suddenly I hear a floorboard creek, and that's when I slowly uncap Riptide. No sense in discretion at this point, because my dignity isn't worth me being gutted in some strange hotel downtown. I turn slowly trying not to look scared out of my mind, putting my back towards the bed.

For a brief second I swear I catch the briefest scent of…

No way…she's not here.

Suddenly I hear two stomps on the floorboards and something slams into my chest, making me drop Riptide as I fall backwards on the bed . So much for not getting filleted in the strange hotel room. Four years having gone to hell and back and this is how it ends?

My luck is amazingly awful.

I can't get off my back. Whatever has pinned me to the bed has pressure on my hips and chest…and I feel something vaguely sharp on my neck.

"Percy!" I hear from an angry whispered voice.

I open my eyes at whatever invisible force is holding me down…and suddenly it all makes sense…and then makes no sense at all.

Annabeth.

To be continued...


	2. The Search

**A/N: Rick Riordan owns the copyrighted characters in this story. No infringement intended in the name of profit.**

Her image materializes in front of me as she pulls off her invisibility cap. The first thing I notice is her face, an odd mix of relief and 'I-never-dreamed-I-could-be-more-pisseditude' all swirling around in her grey eyes.

Her hypnotic, amazing grey eyes.

"Annabeth…" I start…without really knowing what I'm going to say.

'What are you doing here?'

'Have you been following me?'

'Please don't kill me'

"Have you been following me?" she asks me instead. Oh the irony.

She doesn't appreciate the intense eye roll I give her.

"How or why would I even do that? You have an invisibility cap…and we barely talk at camp anymore so it's not like I know when you come or go these days. Even if I did, I trust you can handle things on your own, and you know that I know that!" I spat.

This has all gone downhill very quickly.

Her eyes soften, and I look away in a miniature bout of shame.

"Aphrodite?" she asks simply, and I look back.

"Duh," I confirm.

We've been set up.

"Why would she send us both without telling the other person?" she asks, and I know the answer…I've known for over a year now. But telling Annabeth that the goddess of love is trying to set you up with your best friend is asking for a sarcastic laugh and an awkward 'Are you serious?' conversation immediately after.

Besides, said best friend is still in love with a guy whose body is now being used as host for the King of all Titans who just happens to be determined to wipe out everything and everyone we hold dear.

Love is stupid.

"Believe me, we don't want to know the answer," I say, trying to put a brave, somewhat smile on the whole thing.

She softens a bit more, even letting a smile creep up on the corners of her mouth.

Before I can savor the moment anymore I realize she is still straddling me on a bed with a knife to my throat. I'm not so worried about the former, but the latter puts me in the Underworld…and that is something I'd rather not have.

Not again anyway.

"Look Wise Girl, either kill me already, or let's get off this bed and find the vial before the cleaning lady comes around and…"

"Right…right…sorry…I…" she gets off of me stammering and I swear she's blushing, all the while brushing off her jeans and shirt to give her a distraction from having to look at me in the eyes.

"So how long were you here before I came around?" I ask…hoping she found the vial already and we can get out of here like…now.

"Twenty minutes maybe. Just long enough to get the desk manager to make me a copy of the keycard for the door and locate the room safe," she explains. "Also on my way back I found this," she walks over to the closet and slides open the door to reveal and open bag of dusty looking tools.

See?

Irreplaceable.

"Okay…show me the safe," I say trying not to show my admiration for just how clever Annabeth Chase is.

She opens the little cabinet door beneath the safe and there it is. It's an older, bigger safe that came up to my knee. If it was one of those tiny, digital lock deals we would have probably had to fly back to get the Stoll brothers or something. That would have been way beyond our petty larceny experience.

"I'm guessing you already have a plan" I ask looking at her. I can tell she can barely contain her glee at telling me.

"I think we should be able to open it by just drilling through the lock," she starts, "these safes weren't meant to hold out dedicated criminals, just cleaning staff or maybe your garden variety muggers. So…would you like to do the honors? I figure you can put a little more weight behind it," she asks holding up the drill.

"Are you calling me fat?" I ask, pretending to take offense.

"Well I wasn't going to say anything, but now that you mention it…" she starts…almost about to crack a smile.

Almost, but then as I reached over to take the drill from her hands some of our fingers touched.

I guess it had been a while since we last made even incidental contact, because clearly the brush of skin both took us by surprise. And then we just kind of stood there staring at our fingers…mine covering hers which were presently covering that drill…and we just kind of lingered there in silence.

My brain is screaming to say something…anything at this moment.

I miss her.

I miss our friendship.

I'm…I'm sorry.

"Annabeth, I…" I was close…I didn't care how much I was going to stammer through it but dammit I was going to say all three of those things in some way.

"Ruh…right…we should get started…you're right…" and she leaves the drill in my hands and walks over to the safe. "You should drill right here, center of the dial. Keep going until you don't feel any resistance," she says, not making eye contact.

I walk over and plug in the drill in the closest outlet and get to work. After about a minute the drill goes straight through and the dial and it falls into the safe. The door pops open right after. Annabeth walks back over from guarding the door to look inside the safe with me.

Nothing.

Not a damn thing.

We look at each other in mutual annoyance.

I look back over at the bed, which is flanked by two nightstands with single drawers.

"Was there anything in the nightstands?" I ask.

"Room service menu in the one closest to the bathroom. Two bibles in the one closest to the window," she explains, pointing at each one.

That's weird.

"Two bibles?" I look at her with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah…two…what's so strange about that?"

I walk over and open the drawer. One bible is in mint condition...obviously the Gideon version you'll find in any hotel room that has been more or less untouched for however long the room has been in existence. The other is a well worn soft cover bible that looks like it has been through the dryer a couple of times in existence.

I pull the battered one out of the drawer as Annabeth walks over. I lay it flat on my left hand and open it with my right. Turning over the first five pages reveals a hole where someone cut out a vial size space to put…yep…a vial of red liquid.

Annabeth's eyes light up.

"Pretty smart for a Seaweed Brain," she says. "Essence..of…Rose? Is that what it says?" she asks reading the label on the vial…and I have a hard time believing I can do better…but yeah…it looks like it reads 'ESSENCE OF ROSE' because no other letter combination makes immediate sense to me.

"Yeah…but we should do one more sweep, just to be sure. I'll check that other bible and the other drawer and look under and around the bed. How but you check the bathroom one last time?" I suggest, but Annabeth's eyes are still locked on the vial.

"Is…that…okay with you?" I say a bit louder and she snaps out of it.

"Yes…sorry…I'll check the bathroom" she mumbles still keeping an eye on the vial.

I close the bible and hand it to her.

"Here…you get to claim the victory to Aphrodite. Frankly I'd rather not see her again today if I don't have too," I say with a smile.

She quickly takes it from my hands and realizes how impulsive that looked.

"Why are you so afraid of her? She's been nothing but nice to me. A bit nosy I guess…and I know my mom is more suspicious of her than any of the other Olympians…except maybe…" she trails off.

"My dad. Poseidon. I know. Look if we ever live past Kronos and whatever awaits after the big prophecy I'll tell you everything. Promise." I say directing her to check the bathroom.

My search turns up nothing, as expected. And I'm relieved to think that this is almost over.

But before I can pull myself completely off the floor after checking under the bed, I'm startled to see Annabeth standing right behind me.

And I mean she was right behind me.

"Percy…" she starts…her eyes are weird…she looks guilty but…also happy for some reason, "Percy I did something bad."

**To be continued…**


	3. The Confession

**A/N: Rick Riordan owns the copyrighted characters in this story. No infringement intended in the name of profit.**

"Define 'bad'?" I ask, trying not to make it obvious that I've noticed she's laced the fingers of her right hand into the fingers of my left.

She must feel bad if she's bribing me with a hand hold.

"I…I couldn't stop looking at that vial…and thinking about why we were sent here," she says…while putting her left hand on my chest taking the smallest step forward.

Her closeness is already starting to freak me out. To the point where I'm dying to take a step back because I'm sure I'm sweaty and that my hands are still as gross as they were during our first dance, and I can't remember for the life of me whether I put on deodorant because I woke up late for breakfast and had to take a lot of shortcuts to get cleaned up this morning.

"And? And?" I stammer, my voice also cracked on the first 'and'. Way to keep your composure, Perseus.

"I just had to know what it smelled like. I mean…aren't you curious too?" she admits, looking really sheepishly at me.

"You smelled it?" I overreact slighty, until I remember, "What happened to the 'beware of love magic' Annabeth that yanked that scarf away back when we were at the water park? Are you kidding me that you just did that?"

"I know. I'm sorry," she says sincerely, "But I don't think it did anything to me…"

I was hoping there would be more to this thought, but instead Annabeth has basically totally invaded my personal space. Her chest, hips, and feet are all up against mine. Her right hand is still in my left, but her left hand has moved to the hair just above the back of my neck.

And I can feel her nose grazing the sides of my neck…like she's…smelling me.

My panic meter is about to explode.

"You smell…amazing…are you wearing cologne?" she says in a voice barely above a whisper.

"No…just…deodorant" I barely stammer out, although it came out as more of a question than a statement. Again…this morning was rough.

But this afternoon is turning into a contender.

"Percy…," she starts…finally pulling away from my neck. I slowly unclench my right hand. The fist I was making was so tight I began digging my nails into my palms, "do you…think about me? Like when I'm not around?"

"Annabeth, I really think we should…" but she puts a finger to my lips before I can again plead that we need to get the hell out of here.

"I know…it's an incredibly girly and insecure question. It's just that…I dunno…ever since Rachel ruined what was supposed to be our first date," she begins…letting the tip of her finger linger on my bottom lip, "I'm worried I don't have your undivided attention."

Not really an issue right now though, is it?

"Rachel didn't ruin that almost date, Annabeth, a combination of monsters and me stepping foot in a new school did," I explain, my breath uneven.

"You're nervous…why are you so nervous?" she asks…in another whisper.

"You're…you're really close…and I…I think there was something in that vial that's making you suddenly stand so close to me," I say, putting my free hand up to her forehead and then her cheek…trying to feel her temperature.

Annabeth didn't expect this, but she gave away a tiny smile and angled her cheek more into my hand.

This…this is bad.

"I need to see the vial…show me the vial…" I say…barely able to hide the panic in my voice. She turns to show me the bible still resting on the bed.

I sit on the bed and open the bible, Annabeth standing right in front of me. I pull out the vial and read the label wrapped around its center again and again, praying that my dyslexia will cut me some slack and give me the answer.

'CESSNEE FO ORSE'

'ESSENCE OF ROSE'

'ESSENCE OF EROS'

'ESSENCE OF EROS'

"Annabeth, what is…" but before I can finish Annabeth starts pushing me down on to the bed and has straddled my hips. "No…no…no…wait. Annabeth…what is Eros?"

"You never answered my question, Percy," she states holding my arms down by the wrists, her face hovering just inches from mine.

My puzzled (and scared) face tells her I've forgotten the question.

"Do you think about me when I'm not around?" she asks determinedly.

The room is so still, so quiet.

"Do you…do you remember that picture you sent me? Of you visiting the Washington Monument?"

She nods, but with a questioning look.

"That was when it first started happening…when I first started thinking about you. At first I just thought I was thrilled to have a friend…a friend who had the exact same problems as me. But then…I started getting this other feeling about you…and I…I haven't been able to figure it out since," I say…barely able to look at her, "But yeah…I…I think about you…all the time."

Again, she doesn't really expect this answer from me. Her eyes are ping-ponging between my eyes and…um…my lips.

Her expression is dead serious.

"I can help you…" she says, her voice husky and determined as she rests her upper torso against mine, pretty much fully pressing me into the bed. Between that and the motion of her hips against mine, my brain is in overdrive. This is a side of Annabeth I've only imagined. And even though I've imagined it at least once a day for the past four years or so, it still seems unbelievable to me. "I can help you figure it out…" she says again, as her eyes close and her lips move towards mine.

I want this.

I want this so badly I could scream right now.

"Annabeth wait…just…just tell me one thing," I say…managing to fend her off by bumping her nose with mine. She stops and looks me in the eyes. "What is Eros?"

"Not what. It's who. Eros is Ares and Aprhodite's son, God of Sexual Love and Beauty…or just the God of Desire. Mortals know him by his Roman name…"

"Cupid," I finish.

"Pretty smart for a Seaweed Brain," she says with a smile.

I turn solemn.

"Annabeth, do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, Percy. I…I lo-" and before she can finish that thought I put my finger up to her lips.

"Then come back to camp with me, and let's finish this conversation later," I say.

"Promise?" she sighs, letting go of my wrists and sitting up, which I do too before she has a chance to change her mind.

She is still straddling me though, and the change in position is making me think that we are in far greater danger of me changing _my_ mind.

"I promise," I say, keeping eye contact to let her know I mean it.

"Kiss on it?" she asks in an almost pleading voice as she watches her finger trace the outline of my collar bone.

I pause.

I feel like if I don't give her something, she'll go crazy on me.

I push a stray strand of her hair over her ear, cup her cheek and give her the softest, most chaste kiss I can.

I linger for a second, maybe a second too long as Annabeth takes in a sharp breath through her nose and suddenly grabs a handful of my t-shirt to pull me closer. I immediately push her away ever so gently.

I swear I hear her give the faintest whimper ever.

"Come on Wise Girl…let's go…" I try to say casually, but I really want to stay…and I have never had a good poker face. Annabeth looks at me for a moment, and I worry she can sense my dilemma, but she finally gets up off of me and allows me to exit the bed as well.

I grab the bible and throw the drill back into the bag, taking that with us and so we can leave it where Annabeth first found it. I close all the drawers and cabinets and straighten the sheets to make the room look as unused as humanly possible.

Annabeth leads me to the service closet where she found the tools and we leave the bag there. At this point I'm feeling like we're nearly home free, then we take the stairs down to the lobby so she can leave the room key with the desk manager. They'll never be able to prove we broke it anyway, and nothing except a bible with a hidden stash of mythological love potion was taken from the room.

I'd love to see that police report.

There just had to be one more awkward moment of course, as I stupidly suggested we take the elevator back up to the top floor rather than hitting all those stairs again. I grab Annabeth's hand (also not smart) and hurry us over to the elevator that just opened.

Annabeth, who is still not thinking straight, interprets this as me changing my mind and the minute we get into the elevator. I nearly dropped the bible in shock as she pinned me against the wall and tried with all of her might to kiss me again. At this point she just seems like a slightly drunk girl coming back from the clubs that I would occasionally see back in the days when I would be out far too late on a summer night trying to avoid living under the same roof as Smelly Gabe.

"Percy..." she purrs in my ear as one of her hands' fingertips graze my stomach (how she managed to sneak her hand under my t-shirt is beyond me), "you're mine…I saw you first…me" and for some reason the elevator door just keeps staying open and of course some middle aged couple comes toward us hoping to use the elevator as well. The woman gives us a look of…well…disapproval I guess is the best word, while the guy is barely able to restrain a smile. Upon seeing the bible in my hand though the guy changes his expression to look more like his wife's.

Clearly they are both thinking the same thing now; we are the worst missionaries ever.

Annabeth at least has the awareness to cool it when they join us in the elevator. Apparently the potion doesn't take away one's value of privacy. She keeps a hold of my free hand though as she stands next to me, leaning over with a mischievous smile to whisper in my ear, "You'd be in so much trouble right now if these mortals weren't here."

I'm pretty sure at this point the goosebumps on the back of my neck are never going to go away.

Finally we reach the top floor, and make our way up the on flight of stairs up to the roof. Blackjack spots us and immediately gets things off on the wrong foot…or hoof I guess in his case.

'_Yo_ _boss! You were down there forever. Oh hey, it's your girlfriend! Never mind then…_' he says, clearly approving.

"She's not my…it's not like that. But I'll explain everything if you can fly us to camp faster than you've ever had to before," I say, helping Annabeth up on the Pegasus.

**To be continued…**


	4. The Reveal

**A/N: Rick Riordan owns the copyrighted characters in this story. No infringement intended in the name of profit.**

The ride back was uneventful. Or as uneventful as riding a Pegasus high over the New York coastline can be. We parked Blackjack back into the stables and ran into Silena Beauregard as we were walking out.

"Where have you two been?" she asks with an overly curious smile at Annabeth, who is still keeping her focus on me with her 'we have unfinished business' smile.

"Mission," I say not hiding how annoyed I look and feel, "I don't suppose you've seen your Mom recently?"

"Actually I have. She's talking with Chiron and Mr. D," she explains pointing towards the Big House.

"Thanks…" I say, grabbing Annabeth's hand and leading her there.

"We don't have to see her right away do we? Let's go to your cabin first. We can be alone…" Annabeth says too loud, and I look back as we're walking away from Silena to notice her covering her mouth in shock.

Great, she heard that. By dinner the whole camp will think that Wise Girl and I had sex. Awesome.

Chiron, Mr. D, and Aphrodite are sitting on the front porch drinking iced tea and listening to Clarisse complain about something to do with the Apollo cabin and a hijacked chariot. Clarisse is no less annoyed by seeing me, and the fact that all three of the people she was addressing are now much more interested in my presence also doesn't help.

"Get in line, Jackson," Clarisse sneers.

"I'll be quick," I reply, throwing the bible down on the table in front of them.

"You've found religion, Perry? Good for you. I trust you won't be needing to stay at camp any longer?" Mr. D starts, again pretending to forget my name. Chiron clears his throat, probably in an attempt to cut him off and make sure I don't explode at him.

"Your vial is in there. I was originally going to have Annabeth present it to you, but I'm afraid she'll try and smell it again," I say with as much controlled venom as possible. This was the wrong thing to say though as Annabeth looks beyond guilty in front of Aphrodite.

"Dionysus, would you be a dear and…" Aphrodite begins to ask, but before she can even finish Dionysus snaps his fingers a shot glass full of light blue liquid appears on the table.

"Have her drink this, my dear, and all will be well," Aphrodite says, fanning herself.

"Unless it causes her and me to forget the past few hours, I seriously doubt that," I answer angrily.

"But then, what would either of you have taken away from this little task," she smiles, "Make sure she gets to bed…that antidote draft can make you drowsy."

Unbelievable. No way am I taking her near a bed again.

At least not today.

"Can you do me a favor?" I ask, turning towards Clarisse.

"Bite me, Jackson," she replies.

Right…let's try a different way.

"Can you do her a favor?" I ask again, posturing towards Annabeth. Clarisse's expression softens, and I hand her the drink. "Make sure she takes this and get her to bed?"

Clarisse nods. "Come on, girl, you've done enough for one day," and she leads Annabeth away.

I take a moment to watch them walk off, then turn to the table. I would give anything to cuss them all out, with the exception of Chiron who, judging by his facial expression, has no freaking idea what is going on.

But anymore outbursts in front of the Olympians may get me into trouble I don't even want to imagine. And I have to think Mr. D especially won't put up with me disrespecting Aphrodite.

So I take a breath.

"Good night," I say, with an almost blank expression.

Dinner was terrible. Not the food, but just the fact that I couldn't eat. I would look over at the Athena table and see an empty spot where Annabeth should be sitting, and how if she were there she would have caught me staring at her, and I would have caught her staring back at me a minute later, and we would play this awkward game from afar until it got too weird and I would end up leaving.

One of the only good things about having to eat by yourself is that you never have anybody to say 'Excuse Me' to when you want to leave.

But after today, I would give anything to have that kind of awkward again.

Even later that night I volunteered to fill Annabeth's spot on patrol. It was actually a great night for it, there was a light breeze coming in from the East, and the Satyrs were whooping it up and playing some sort of late night game of tag or something deep in the woods. Sometimes it's so quiet you just feel like an attack is coming, but tonight wasn't going to be one of those nights.

I catch the briefest glimpse of large bird flying just ahead of me towards the woods and land on a branch. As I walk further on I notice it's an owl. Despite the random fact I memorized about owls being nocturnal and all, we don't see many of them here at camp.

We stare at each other as I walk pass.

"A moment of your time, Son of Poseidon," a woman's voice commands from behind me.

I turn around to find a female warrior holding a long spear. She has a breastplate with an olive tree etching and a helmet made to look like the face of an owl.

Only so many Olympians this could be.

"Lady Athena," I salute sincerely with a bow.

It's obvious why she's here, and I should probably be more scared, but at this point I can't help whatever happens.

Just the same…I can feel my knees buckling.

"Rise, Perseus Jackson," she says as she approaches lifting up her helmet's face plate. Her hair is blonde and curly like Annabeth's this time, and some strands are falling out of the helmet, but she looks like no less of a knockout, especially with her cool grey eyes.

"How may I be of service?" I ask as she approaches. I may be going overboard with the respect, but I'm also glad to see an Olympian today that didn't do something to piss me off.

"Allow me to join you on patrol," she answers, not like I needed convincing. Having one of the Olympians on patrol with you all but guarantees you might survive.

We walk for a minute or two, and I can't figure out if I should say something first or not. Everytime I convince myself I should though, I still can't think of single smart thing to start with.

"I'm never going to completely like your father Perseus, we have too much history between us to ever make that possible. But I have learned something today."

"_You_ learned something?" I say jokingly, forgetting this is not Annabeth, daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom, but the actual Goddess of Wisdom.

Annabeth chalks these comments up to my brain having to barf up a stupid comment once in a while to make room for new seaweed.

"Funny…just like your father," she says, and I look down immediately ashamed at my poorly timed attempt at humor, "but unlike your father, you showed amazing restraint today…especially for a teenage boy."

"You…you heard?" I ask.

"Actually I saw. This was a test set up by Aphrodite and her son, Eros. I was not told about this until moments before Annabeth found you in the room. Needless to say, I'm not happy with Aphrodite's scheming, especially since this was done to set up a bet."

"A bet?" I ask as I stop walking, wondering also how exactly Aphrodite and Athena watched this whole thing go down. Did they literally turn themselves into flies and hang out on the wall the whole time?

No way in Hades am I asking her.

"Mmm…yes…Lady Aphrodite wanted to bet me on whether you would give in to your temptation. She does know a thing or two about that after all…" she says with an annoyed tone.

"But you stopped it just in time right? Is that how we managed to get out of there without…you know…'it' happening?" I question, not daring to say the 'sex' word in front of Annabeth's all-powerful mother.

"Actually I bet you were going to crack, and that I would eventually have to step in if it seemed you were unable to resist Annabeth's less-than-sober advances. Aphrodite bet you would do the honorable thing," she explains with a smile. "You should probably be aware that I don't care for being wrong…especially at the expense of Aphrodite…but in this particular case it's a good thing."

"So you're not going to kill me?" I ask hopefully.

She smiles slowly…and my knees twitch again.

"Not tonight. No. You have demonstrated your loyalty to my daughter, despite being the son of the God who is widely considered to have the least ability to control his…carnal…desires."

"Um…thanks?" I say without enthusiasm. It's kind of tough to be happy about that comment when she has basically called out my dad for being a sex addict.

She stops walking abruptly.

"This is where I take my leave. Continue to honor my daughter, Son of Poseidon," she says as she begins to shimmer and turn into the blinding white light.

And then she's gone.

I sigh and shake my head.

Sure they are trying to destroy the world, but I bet these crazy shenanigans don't go on in Kronos' army.

**To be continued…**


	5. The Talk

**A/N: Rick Riordan owns the copyrighted characters in this story. No infringement intended in the name of profit.**

This is the first time I'm early to breakfast in well…ever.

Because I (mostly) skipped dinner and had patrol last night, my body is dying for calories. But I'm also not psyched to see Annabeth yet. So the plan is to get in early, inhale my food, then get over to the docks and dunk myself to make up for my lack of real sleep.

I'm sure she's nowhere close to wanting to see me, either.

The only people who are up and eating are Clarisse and Beckendorf, along with a couple of other campers from the Hephaestus cabin. Those guys (and girls) work weird hours though since the forges are a little more tolerable at night when it's not so hot.

I'm certain Ares' kids never really sleep, especially if it has been a long time in between a 'real battle' as they would put it. They're better at napping. Surprisingly Clarisse doesn't give me the middle finger she normally greets me with in the morning. If anything, she's just totally indifferent to me being there.

I'm not stupid enough to think my luck is changing.

I finish up my food and head over to the docks. But something looks very strange as I make way over a hill that overlooks the shoreline. A small, dingy looking commercial fishing boat is docked on the leftmost slip. Considering there are usually only canoes there, it looks a bit wacky.

I walk even closer to inspect, and notice an untidy black haired man scrubbing the deck.

I make my way onto the boarding plank and step onto the deck.

It can't be…

"Dad...is that…is that you?"

The man gets up off of his knees and turns to face me.

His eyes are sea green like mine. He's dressed in sandals, some cargo shorts that have seen better days, and a really weathered looking Phish concert t-shirt. Of all the hippie jam-bands he has to like, of course it had to be Phish.

"Hey son, heard you had some excitement yesterday?" he says, giving me a warm smile.

"I've had safer excitement in the Labyrinth," I answer rolling my eyes. "How did you hear about it anyway?"

"Oh you know women. Aphrodite couldn't contain herself gloating about how she proved Little Miss Goddess Know-it-All wrong. Naturally I got a good laugh out of that too," he chuckles, throwing his scrub brush into a nearby bucket. "Plus it's nice to see my boy has got the old Sea God magnetism," he says a little too carefree.

That magnetism is the reason I'm here and why all but two Olymipans (my dad…and maybe Aphrodite) want me dead all the time, and why my best friend's mom hates his guts, and why monsters like Medusa even exist.

But yeah, other than those minor things, it's totally awesome.

"Dad…she was basically drunk. No way in Hades she thinks of me in that way. At all," I say with emphasis on the last two words as I walk over to the railing overlooking the rest of the bay.

There is a pause as some birds caw in the distance.

"You're right," he begins walking over to join me next the the rails, "and wrong. Funny thing about the Essence of Eros, unlike some of his other mischievous concoctions which cause total opposites to suddenly become irrationally interested in each other, this one reveals hidden passions. Allowing the inhaler to show some of the more…intense dimensions of their feelings for somebody…without you know…chickening out," he finishes.

My stomach leaps into my chest.

But that would mean…

"Try not to be too surprised son. Women have the same interest in…you know…'that'…as we do," he says making some weird hand gestures that I assume are meant to be translated as 'sex', "They just do a little better job at managing it," he says not looking at me.

I'm starting to realize we're having a 'birds and bees' type conversation, and even though he is an all powerful God of the Seas, this is just as awkward for him as it is for me.

I would pay a million drachmas to change the subject.

"I guess I'm just mad that Aphrodite had to do this now, you know? With so many other important things going on. Meddling in the relationship of two teenagers, like is that _really_ important right now?" I ask, not expecting an answer.

"Aphrodite's motives are not always obvious," my Dad says.

His expression suddenly changes.

He looks…guilty.

"You know Percy, I've attempted to honor you indirectly, since we're not allowed to go on fishing trips or anything like mortals do. I've tried to go to bat for you with Athena, about not killing you obviously, but also about your relationship with Annabeth. Needless to say, Athena doesn't care for my opinion…or my offspring," he says…looking away again.

"Yeah…I got the vibe too," I deadpan.

"I'm afraid I may have blabbed about this same problem to Aphrodite, and she may have taken it upon herself to change Athena's opinion of you," he explains.

Wait?

What?

"So…so you're telling me that this is somehow _your_ fault? And that Aphrodite was attempting to do an honest good deed?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, can you believe it?" he nods.

I shake my head.

"No…but somehow it worked," and I explain to him about my conversation with Athena last night, and how she kinda-sorta doesn't hate me as much anymore.

"Wow," he says impressed, "all of these millennia and I still manage to be surprised by something,"

He regards me for a moment, all serious again.

"Just the same, I'm sorry you had to go through that. But you managed to hold your ground and get her back safely," he says with a smile. "We have your mom to thank for your decision making."

"She'd consider that an insult if you read my school records," I smile at him.

He laughs, then puts a hand on my shoulder, leading me down to the plank.

"I've got to weigh anchor, and you should get back to your cabin. I'll see you soon," he says and I nod and make my way down the plank before I could fully think about what he just said.

"My cabin? What's at my cab-" I'm about to ask but he cuts me off.

"Trust me. Tyson says 'hi' by the way," he answers before going all white light and disappearing on me.

What's at my cabin is Annabeth. Sitting on my bed.

Of all places to have the awkward follow up conversation, my cabin would not be my first choice.

"Hey," my voice cracks again. Will puberty never end? "Hey," the second time sounds a bit better.

Silence. I still haven't moved away from the cabin door as it closes behind me. I'm not worried about her trying to make out with me as much as I'm worried she is going to gut me.

"Missed you at breakfast," she says, her golden curly hair put up in a messy bun and her eyes tinged with worry."Did you sleep in from patrol last night?"

"No…I just ate early," I stammer, trying really hard to make eye contact.

Trying and failing.

"You? Early birding it? Now that's odd behavior," she says with a smile.

I resist the temptation to say 'Yeah, there is a lot of that going around these days.'

"Yeah…yeah…" I manage instead, barely. Not even trying to make eye contact by now.

"C'mon Seaweed Brain, sit over here, I'm not going to bite," she says patting the space on my bed.

My hands start feeling gross again. I swear it happens every time she says that.

I walk over and sit down a good two feet away from her, keeping my palms squarely on my legs and hoping whatever grossness does exist on my hands wipes off on my jeans, which are going to be dirty by the time I finish Sparring Class anyway.

I can feel her eyes on me. Then I feel the bed rise and fall again as she sits right next to me.

And I mean right next to me.

How did we get here again so soon?

"Percy," she says in that way that also means 'look at me, you big wuss', which I do even though this is fast becoming one of the top three most nerve racking situations ever, and given what I've lived through already in my short life, that is saying something, "I don't um…we don't need to go over everything that was said yesterday," she says, her lips trembling.

I kissed those lips yesterday.

Focus.

I nod quietly.

"I…I just wanted to say…thanks," she says, taking my left hand into her right and giving it a squeeze.

I squeeze back, thinking that I can express something even deeper to her this way that I just can't get out in words.

"You're welcome," I manage, "you're…you're one of my best friends. I couldn't let anything bad happen to you if I can help it. Even if it all could have been avoided had you not made a boneheaded mistake," I say smiling.

Her expression sours a bit as she looks back down.

"But hey, I've had my own awesome blunders," I say, "Not like you'll ever let me forget the whole guinea pig incident with Circe, right?"

She looks back up at me.

"You were so cute as a guinea pig," she says looking back up at me with an impish smile.

"Thanks," I say, not hiding my sarcasm, but before I can go on she wraps her arms around my shoulders.

And that's how we sit for a minute or so before she starts letting go, places her left hand on my right cheek and kisses me on the left cheek.

She lingers there for a moment, and I'm wondering if she's saying something back to me this way deeper than words she can't allow herself to say.

She finally pulls away and locks eyes with me. My heart is pounding so hard I'm worried she can hear it.

Suddenly her eyes shift slightly and go wide, noticing something just behind me.

"I…I need to go now," she says nervously.

I look back and notice an owl has perched itself just outside my window, and seems very curious as to what we are doing.

And I'm sure Annabeth knows that any normal owl should be asleep right now.

"Yeah…I understand," I say nodding.

She makes her way towards the door and turns to look at me one last time.

"Just so you know…I…I've been trying to figure it out too," she says glancing at the owl back at the window before locking eyes with me.

My chest gets tight again. I have no idea if she means that in a positive way or not.

"_You_, the demigoddess of wisdom, are still trying to figure it out?" I say, although without my usual smartass inflections. I'm too rattled to even pretend to be cool.

"Such a Seaweed Brain…" she says, shaking her head.

More silence.

We exchange nervous smiles, and then she heads out the door.

I walk over to the window and look at the owl, then take a gentlemanly bow.

"Lady Athena," I say, and the owl shows its wings and bows back at me, then takes flight.

Annabeth may never love me the way she loves Luke.

Love may indeed be stupid.

But even stupid things are worth fighting for.

Sometimes.

**FIN **

**Final A/N: This was really fun to write. Thanks for reading and at least for some of you, enjoying. And of course, thanks to Mr. Riordan for providing such great characters/stories to um…borrow.**


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